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Thread: Star Trek: Discovery

  1. #151
    Member Guitarplyrjvb's Avatar
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    The NG episode where Picard is rendered unconscious by a drifting alien probe and proceeds to live the life of a long dead man through his stored memories is one of the best things I’ve ever seen on TV. When he picks up the little flute at the end....just Wow!

  2. #152
    Member Vic2012's Avatar
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    I can barely sit through DS9 these days. Seems like any random episode I watch is so Ferengi centric, or Worf/Jadzia centric. Just find it terminal.

  3. #153
    cunning linguist 3LockBox's Avatar
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    I understand brand recognition and everything but why can't they just create their own Star Trek reality and leave Canon alone. Why keep trolling out different versions of Bones, Kirk, and Spock. At least TNG introduced new set of characters in a different era, even if they did managed to include some aspects of the original series. The Kelvin timeline tried to reinvent the wheel and they failed. I'll watch a fresh Star Trek series, but I have no interest and a show that wants to reintroduce the same characters with different histories, blow up every tenant of canon and expect fans to embrace it.
    Last edited by 3LockBox; 01-23-2019 at 06:03 PM.

  4. #154
    Member thedunno's Avatar
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    For me Star trek has always been a very optitimistic, humanistic and idealistic series. With a strong moral code and a trust in science all problems were solved. Non violence, diplomacy and coorporation have always been the preferred ways. Action and special effect always were used to support the story but were never a goal in itself.

    In these times of growing racial and religious tensions, environmental problems, the rise of populism and overpopulation I could use some 'real' optimistic Star Trek. Unfortunately Discovery was not. It was all about action, violence and special effects. Instead of science we get a extremely silly 'mystical spore drive'. I can understand that todays audiences want the action and special effects and have very little to no intrest in Star Treks moral code. Just do not call the series Star Trek then. I hated season 1. By far the worst trek I have ever seen.

    But episode 1 of season 2 felt a little bit like Star Trek again. Lets see what the rest of the season brings.
    Last edited by thedunno; 02-13-2019 at 01:48 AM.

  5. #155
    Moderator Poisoned Youth's Avatar
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    My thoughts more globally - because why not:

    TOS: I grew up with the re-runs, but watched this show about as young an age as I can remember. I was always fascinated with astronomy, so I gravitated towards this, Star Wars when it first came out (I was 7), and the plethora of sci-fi shows to follow. While the storylines were often rather unrealistic science fiction, the "human condition" aspect was written very well without bludgeoning you over the head with it.

    The Animated Series: Very fun to watch as a kid. Amusing to watch as an adult. Annoying to binge watch. The lack of music, SFX, and voice over talent made the production a bit low rent. If you're binge watching, you'll hear the same music and notice that James Doohan and Nichelle Nichols are voicing a lot of the extras. It's also difficult to write this show into a 30 minute format. But it was pretty cerebral for a cartoon.

    TOS Movies I-VI: I was so bored with the first ST movie as a kid, I can't even put it into words. I have gained some appreciation of it as an adult. Khan is a classic, if not a bit dated. Voyage Home brought back the old spirit of TOS. None of these movies should win Oscars, but collectively they help rather than hurt.

    TNG: I was so psyched when this show came to be, but struggled with it a bit at first. Even looking back on it 30 years later, the 1st season was really rather dreadful. The writing was bad, the way the crew treated Picard so formally was awkward, and there was little sense of the "Trek universe". Ironically, this show got better as a result of the writer's strike and diminished involvement by Gene. The writers in season 2 were restricted (iirc) in what they could write, so the focus was primarily on character development. It was a bit of a boring season as a result, but much of the development used in season 2 was referenced directly/indirectly in the seasons to come. Once they changed production teams, uniform, and writing for season 3, the show really kicked in well. Seasons 3 and 4 are some of the best Trek ever.

    DS9: I was thrilled that the show was doing well enough to expand into a spinoff. What seems like such an obvious thing to do with successful shows today was much more rare 30 years ago. There are some elements to DS9 that are superior to most of the Trek out there - the setting and backstory, the politics, the mystical/spiritual elements, and the switch over from standalone to episodic/arc storytelling. I also loved it when Worf joined the cast. And I used to think of this as the best show to revisit. The last time I revisited the show, I started to get really annoyed at how silly the show became. Ferengi became a parody of themselves. They turned Leela into a recurring character. The whole Vic Fontaine hologram thing. The Dukat obsession/relationship with Kai Winn and Bajoran spiritual belief. The Dax/Worf relationship. It really taints the show for me. I think whenever you have characters on a show (drama, comedy, whatever) that begin to act "out of character", it's a sign the show is heading in the wrong direction.

    Voyager: In contract to DS9, I think this show is very watchable to this day. Obviously the idea of the ship surviving what it did is pretty far fetched, but keeping them on that ship for all those seasons gave them the ability to develop characters. Many don't like the "technobabble" dialog that is strewn throughout the show, but it never bothered me personally. The show certainly has its flaws, but I think Janeway's character was done quite well and Tuvok does for Vulcans what Worf did for Klingons.

    Enterprise: I had a hard time with this show when it first aired as many others did. It's probably in part why it was canceled. I've watched it 3 times through since it aired and I think most appreciate the show now as vastly underrated. I do think you really have to "tough out" the first season though. I think they struggled to make the characters relate to each other. The 3rd and 4th seasons are engaging between the payoff from the character development and the episodic story arc.

    TNG movies: Most of these are forgettable add-ons to TNG and the Trek universe. It's nice to see everyone on screen and how their lives changed, but beyond First Contact, none of the stories really make an impact.

    Reboot movies: It was bound to happen. I liked the first reboot, but count me in as one that feels it was unnecessary to destroy Vulcan to "make a point" that this was "the new Trek" and an alternate timeline. It's like a licking a muffin to ensure no one else will want to eat it. But the slick production brought it in to the 21st century. The main problem, the villain...again. Into Darkness could have been great with Khan, but I found it to be the weakest of the films. The scene where Spock and Khan fight on top of the train just completely loses me and any credibility. That said, Beyond was a pretty fun film and perhaps the rightful sequel to the first. It's very possible these 3 films represent the beginning and end of the experiment (as the 4th film seems completely dead now). I think they missed a great opportunity with these films.

    Discovery: I haven't watched it beyond the first episode. One day I'll get to it. What amuses me with guys like Kurzmann and Singer is that they want to create something "totally different" and visionary, but then eventually cop out to the familiar. Spock, Pike, Harry Mudd? But I have an open mind.
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  6. #156
    Member thedunno's Avatar
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    ToS; I saw the series as a small kid and in my memory it was the most wonderful thing on television ever. When I recently rewatched the series i have to say that a lot of episodes seem rather silly now however when ToS was good it was VERY good.

    TNG. Season 1 was aweful, save for one or two episodes, but it got better with each season. Especially season 4,5 and 6 is top notch. My favorite trek.

    Deep Space Nine. This darker more political trek is not my favorite but I still enjoyed most of it. the Ferenji always made me laugh.

    Voyager. enjoyable without being great

    Enterprise: Season 1 and two were dodgy, season 3 a lot better and season 4 was actually pretty good. The best 'mirror universe' episodes here. To bad the show got cancelled after season 4.

    Discovery season 1; worst trek season ever.

  7. #157
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    i'm too cheap to spend more money on streaming sites. my cable bill is big enough.

  8. #158
    Quote Originally Posted by thedunno View Post
    Voyager. enjoyable without being great

    .
    Voyager was Gilligan's Island. Every week they were just about to be rescued (make it back home) and at the last minute something fell through.

  9. #159
    Man of repute progmatist's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BravadoNJ View Post
    i'm too cheap to spend more money on streaming sites. my cable bill is big enough.
    If I were to subscribe to CBS All Access, it would **ONLY** be for ST Discovery. The way things are going, we'll all soon have to subscribe to a dozen, dozen and a half streaming services to watch only 1, 2 or 3 shows per service. That'll end up costing way more than cable or satellite. That's on top of the broadband internet service to even make streaming possible. Here in the US, "broadband" is ridiculously expensive compared to Europe and Asia.
    "Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama

  10. #160
    Member Vic2012's Avatar
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    I have a digital antenna. I get All the ST shows, TOS, and spinoffs ( not Discovery of course) everyday, and on Comet I get Babylon 5, Andromeda, SG1. That's pretty all I watch (scifi) besides PBS and local news.

  11. #161
    I think Discovery would have worked better if placed in the early 25th century after Voyager and after the prime time line events of the 2009 Star Trek film. Then the tech would not seem so out of place. The spore drive business would have been fine there but as it sets between Enterprise and the Original series the spore drive makes no sense. I hope they work some of the inconsistencies of Discovery out.

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  12. #162
    Quote Originally Posted by progmatist View Post
    If I were to subscribe to CBS All Access, it would **ONLY** be for ST Discovery. The way things are going, we'll all soon have to subscribe to a dozen, dozen and a half streaming services to watch only 1, 2 or 3 shows per service. That'll end up costing way more than cable or satellite. That's on top of the broadband internet service to even make streaming possible. Here in the US, "broadband" is ridiculously expensive compared to Europe and Asia.
    I cut the cord many years ago and started renting DVDs by mail. Now I just subscribe to a streaming service for a month or 2 and watch the shows I want and then unsubscribe and subscribe to another, etc. At most I have two overlapping at anyone time. Hulu had a black Friday offer for $0.99/month for 12 months so I jumped on that. Living Social had an offer of 30-days free Showtime. I was able to get 2 codes. Now, I can catch up on Homeland.

  13. #163
    Quote Originally Posted by hippypants View Post
    Check out Star Trek Continues, which is a take off on Star Trek: TOS on YT. It's made by fans rather than Hollywood, so low budget. However, they do an amazing job given their lack of budget. They have good stories, and act pretty well. It takes a bit to adjust to other actors playing the part of Kirk, Spock, and Bones, but it doesn't take long to get into the stories or it didn't for me. There are now 10 episodes on YT.

  14. #164
    Quote Originally Posted by Vic2012 View Post
    DS9 hasn't aged well for me. I'm watching Babylon 5 on Comet now. Great show.
    It is a great show. J. Michael Straczynski kept the story line pretty tight all the way thru the final season. Don't forget to watch the feature films: In the Beginning, Thirdspace, The River of Souls, and A Call to Arms.

  15. #165
    Member hippypants's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ProgFan View Post
    It is a great show. J. Michael Straczynski kept the story line pretty tight all the way thru the final season. Don't forget to watch the feature films: In the Beginning, Thirdspace, The River of Souls, and A Call to Arms.
    I'm hoping they'll show these on the Comet Channel too. I never watched Stargate SG-1, which Comet is showing, but I have to say I'm enjoying them. Good characters and story.

    So what does one think about The Orville? The Star Trek influence is there, and I think MacFarlane is a fan. At times the humor and SF is an odd mix, but it mostly works for me.

  16. #166
    Member Vic2012's Avatar
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    I try to watch The Orville but can never make it through the whole episode.

  17. #167
    cunning linguist 3LockBox's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hippypants View Post
    So what does one think about The Orville? The Star Trek influence is there, and I think MacFarlane is a fan. At times the humor and SF is an odd mix, but it mostly works for me.
    I finally got around to watching this show on Hulu so I could binge watch it. Of all the reboots I've seen this show at least gets the original spirit of Star Trek right. But I stated last year in this very thread that Seth MacFarlane had been accused of borrowing plot devices from The Simpsons. I think the show is heavily influence by Futurama as well as Star Trek TNG. Sometimes the parody of older Star Trek constructs is obvious and sometimes the episodes ring so familiar that it's hard to separate parody from infringement. The first season had some really good episodes in it the way they parallel current social issues and challenge social constructs, the way the original series did. The second season seems rather lazy to me. It's gotten away from parody and now almost completely parallels TNG. A couple of the episodes this season, particularly episode 6, completely jump the shark for me. And considering that Seth MacFarlane produced an updated version of Cosmos with Neil deGrasse Tyson, the science here is as fanciful as ever.

  18. #168
    Member IMWeasel's Avatar
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    Ah yeah the H&I network? Thats a good one! I get that and Comet as well. Great to see sci-fi still on the free airwaves!
    Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

  19. #169
    Member hippypants's Avatar
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    H & I looks pretty cool as far as programming, I'll have to see if I can get that here.

  20. #170
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    there's a lot of hype about this series.
    but i pay plenty for cable and i refuse
    to get on the social media bandwagon
    and go on a streaming binge trying to
    convince myself it's worth the extra money.

    i'll stick to the H&I network for my ST fix.

  21. #171
    Member Vic2012's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vic2012 View Post
    I try to watch The Orville but can never make it through the whole episode.
    That 2 parter where Jacob the robot goes berserk was kinda fun. But we've seen this before where Data goes berserk and betrays his humans. It's the same story. Seth MacFarlane thinks we're stoopid.

  22. #172
    Member Vic2012's Avatar
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    Isaac the robot.....

  23. #173
    cunning linguist 3LockBox's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vic2012 View Post
    That 2 parter where Jacob the robot goes berserk was kinda fun. But we've seen this before where Data goes berserk and betrays his humans. It's the same story. Seth MacFarlane thinks we're stoopid.
    Yeah, the more Mcfarlane steps outside Family Guy the less original he seems. I do like him though. A Million Ways To Die In The West was funny as hell, even if it owes a heavy debt to Blazing Saddles. I prefer to think it was his open love letter to Mel Brooks.

  24. #174
    Quote Originally Posted by Vic2012 View Post
    Isaac the robot.....
    Absolutely hilarious
    Be a loyal plastic robot for a world that doesn't care... Frank Zappa

  25. #175
    Member Jerjo's Avatar
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    I think the story of Issac took a theme from ST: NG (Data) and spun a new riff on it. Issac didn't go berserk. This is always who he/it was. The twist was when he popped the Primary's head off like a cherry on a sundae. I think they're taking some of Rodenberry's classic plots and giving them a new look. Before that we had the take on homophobia. If they had followed the original Star Trek's race stories, the ending would have been more definitive and the ending a little more feeling good. In the Orville's episode, the prejudice is exposed and the good guys are horrified, but the punches weren't pulled. Klyden and the Moclan remain unrepentant and there's bad feelings now between the Moclans and the crew. I suspect they'll return to this in time.
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